Judging from everything I’ve heard around Owings Mills, it’s pretty obvious that Neuheisel will not be invited back to be the offensive coordinator for 2008.

It’s also pretty obvious that he’s the prime candidate at UCLA, where he was the quarterback of a Rose Bowl winning team many moons ago. And Brian Billick has been unabashed in his praise for Neuheisel and his love of the college game. He even went so far as to say that it’s probably where Neuheisel belongs, mainly because he enjoys it so much.

For the record, I like Rick Neuheisel. And if my boy could play football at that level, he could certainly play for Rick Neuheisel at UCLA.

It’s been an interesting ride for him here, what with the Jim Fassel fiasco, the 13-3 joyride, the ups and many downs of Kyle Boller’s existence, and the Steve McNair tutoring that might have been a strange brew for a very, VERY successful college coach who was ex-patrioted over some stirred up alumni and a silly college basketball March Madness pool in Washington. (By the way, his return this weekend and the notion that he could be coaching the Bruins very soon has stirred up the pot in a BIG way in Seattle! The Huskies’ program has been nuked since he left.)

Honestly, many people thought he’d NEVER get back into the college ranks because he bit the hand that fed — he sued the NCAA, for crying out loud.

The Duke job kinda came and went.

Now, the UCLA assignment feels closer for him.

It might work out VERY well in the end, because if my guess is correct, Brian Billick will be out in the marketplace searching for the best offensive coordinator Steve Bisciotti’s money can buy around 7 p.m. on Dec. 30.

And Neuheisel, who has been a very decent guy, looks to be "safe" and landing on two feet in his "dream" job. A sort of homecoming, if you will.

They called him "Slick Rick" in the places they didn’t like him in the Pac 10.

By later this week, they could be calling him the coach in Westwood.

And the Ravens will be halfway to replacing him and feeling good that it "all worked out in the end with Rick Neuheisel."